No Excuses
by AlternativeRocker
Summary: Jo gets stood up on a date and goes over to Mac's and does something she doesn't think she should. Mac/Jo one shot.


**Authors Note: **Hey people, sorry for not updating Journey recently, I have been busy with life and other fic projects. So here's a one shot that I don't even think I'm too impressed with it but oh well. :)

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing, just my excitement about the new season later in the month.

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><p>Jo dropped her mascara on to her desk when she saw the person who the video chat site had put her with again, "There is a whole world of internet users and every time I come on this site you always appear! Have you fixed it so this would happen?"<p>

Mac was just as surprised as her but smiled when he noticed she had just finished putting on some make-up and it seemed as though she was even more stunning than how she usually did when she had left work. "You know how useless I am with technology and Adam would never have kept quiet if I had asked for his help so no, it is pure coincidence we keep meeting here."

"I believe you, thousands wouldn't."

"Are you going out tonight Jo?"

"Dinner. Why? Has my make-up smudged?" She hastily picked up a compact mirror that she had lying out and brought it to her face.

"No, you just look nice."

"As opposed to all other nights."

He knew she was teasing him but he couldn't stop himself from backtracking his words, "That's not what I meant, you look nice all the time, tonight is simply different- Wait, is that your office in the background?" Jo nodded in reply, "Why are we video messaging when we could talk face to face?"

Jo narrowed her eyes, wishing he had continued telling her what he thought of how she looked. Sighing, she stood up and turned off the computer, wondering whether she should be so happy about a conversation with her colleague.

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><p>Later that night Mac was at home when he was interrupted by a knock on the door, slightly shocked to find Jo on the other side. He raised an eyebrow, asking her what had happened without any actual words.<p>

"I got stood up and couldn't bear an empty house. I'll go if I've managed to take you away from something important."

"Come in. I was just reading a few files."

Jo's mouth dropped open before she began her chastisement of how he used his free time. "Mac! We have no open cases until tomorrow, take a break."

"Instead I would do what? Numb my mind with TV?"

"You have so much to learn, mainly that television is not the devil." Her mind wanted her to offer to help him like TV but knew that she would end up getting distracted by him and her flirty side would take control as it so often did when they were together.

"I can't see you managing that, most of the programmes on it are pointless."

"That's the whole point; it gets you away from the chaos of our normal lives." He moved out of the doorway to allow her to enter the hall and closed it when she was inside.

"So who were you supposed to be meeting?"

"Some friend of a friend that apparently I would be suited to. He must have chose the easy way out."

Mac could see she was trying to mask her disappointment and desperately wanted to know what he could do to cheer her up but nothing came to mind.

"How long have you been going out on these failed dates with random men for?" He enquired, genuinely curious about the answer and why she had never told him before.

"Since a few months after moving here. It started with the occasional set up then progressed into going with a couple of friends to speed dating nights and heaven knows what else. Dating was never so complicated when I was starting out years ago! Have you got a significant other on the go, I keep meaning to ask?"

"No, but unlike you I don't actively hunt for them."

"You make me sound like an animal searching for prey... Actually that's what I should do; become one of those cougar women, it does seem to be the younger guys who are most attracted to me at the 'dates'." She even resorted to using her fingers for the air quotes around the last word.

"I'm not a younger man."

"We're not on a date."

"That's just a technicality really."

Jo turned to face him, their heads mere inches apart. She blamed being stood up and the flirting for her next actions. She rested the palm of her hand on Mac's cheek and pressed her lips softly against his. The kiss lasted barely a second before she realized what she was doing and broke it off. Without looking back in his direction she got up from the seat and moved away whilst apologizing profusely, "I am so sorry, I don't know why I just did that. Please forget that ever happened!"

She had left the apartment block by the time he chose to go after her and he couldn't see her out on the street. He went back inside again and thought about what had occurred, It had taken him by surprise definitely but not because he hadn't wanted it, just at how suddenly she had ran away. He was scared she had only done it because she was upset and hurt, if so then it would probably take an awful long time for Jo to open up to him again. Yet, in the fraction of seconds before their mouths met he a noticed a flicker of an emotion that made him believe she had meant the kiss and had had no hesitation to do that.

If she were slower on her feet and he had been able to catch up with her then he would have tried to stop her apology as there was no doubting he had enjoyed the brief contact,

Meanwhile, two blocks away Jo was leaning back against the brick wall wondering what in hell had possessed her to kiss Mac. She found it impossible to lie to him so she knew she couldn't pass it off as just using him for comfort since she had wanted to do the same thing almost every time she saw his face. She had never felt like this before, never really been a love-struck teenager or with Russ - that was more built on convenience instead of powerful lust or pain inducing love.

As she attempted to steady her breathing and pulse rate she realized she no idea what to do next, she could hardly go back to his place yet she desperately didn't want to go home after this entire night of spoiled relationships. It wasn't too late - just coming up for 10pm - so she grabbed her phone out of her purse and quickly typed out a message to Adam asking if he wanted a drink, feeling that a friendly face was a necessity. His reply was almost immediate but he was apparently busy which left her on her own once again. There was no point bothering the other members of her team as they had partners and families so she gave up and slowly travelled back to her empty home. Sleep escaped her that night while dread flooded through her body whenever she thought about the atmosphere between the two senior CSI's the coming morning.

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><p>Jo postponed entering the lab for as long as was possible before she technically became late for work. She went straight to her cluttered desk immediately without even glancing into Mac's office which had previous been a natural instinct to her.<p>

He had watched her come in, not clinking as she walked past, only noticing the change later when he realized he hadn't heard the familiar southern accent greeting him. In that moment he became aware of how much he had grown to rely upon the little interactions they had together. He hated the idea of being like this for the rest of time yet did not know really how he could fix it since he supposed she would think he was just trying to be nice if he tried to get close again.

His eyes were barely remaining open because he had slept so little the night before, going through any and every way possible to get back the Jo he knew. The forms he was having to sign lay in front of him and he tried his hardest to concentrate on them but his mind had other plans; making him remember the feel of her lips against his, on a loop. They seemed to have fitted on to each other like a lock and key for that minuscule period of time.

During the rest of the day he thought it best to play by her wishes so let her go to their scenes with Danny that he would normally went with her to, and only spoke to her if necessary , allowing her to see if she preferred this to how they had been only twenty-four hours previous.

The shift seemed to last double the time it should have, even if technically it were just the same as any other. The only difference was that he had lost his usual partner. Jo had barely looked in his direction when they had been in the same room which had been disconcerting since they almost always caught each other's eye in every conversation. Small things like that were missing throughout the day and by the end he knew he could not do another day this way knowing she was a few doors away from him. He hoped she had stayed a few minutes longer after work because his feet were already taking him to her office with no idea of what he would say once he got there.

She was there, surrounded by mountains of post-it notes just as he knew she'd be and there was nowhere or nobody he wanted to be with more.

"Jo, can we talk?" She looked up at him, her cheeks flushing as she remembered why he had to speak to her. Her reply was nothing more than a nod of the head and he sat at the opposite side of her desk and simply looked at her until she began to break the silence,

"Mac, about last night... I don't know what came over me and I completely understand why you don't want to talk to me any more."

"What gave you that impression?"

"Today, You haven't said a word that you didn't need to and , well, you didn't look at me like you used to if I'm being honest," she could hear the child-like petulance in her voice but Mac heard the disappointed woman who thought she had destroyed a friendship.

"I thought that's what you wanted; to be left to work out your own feelings before I tried to get you to tell me."

Jo smiled at him when she realized this had all been his way of helping her, "I thought you would have wanted rid of me after pulling a stunt like I did. I even asked Adam to go for a drink so I could maybe get ill enough to give you a reason for not showing up today but he refused."

"I never want rid of you. However, you do have to promise me you won't ever attempt to join in with Adam's drinking nights again, they can get scary."

Her eyebrows scrunched together while she tried to work out the meaning behind the first part of his words. Anticipation bubbled inside her but the rational part of her brain was halting her hope from being raised.

"So you don't hate me?" She asked, finally looking him in the eye and saw none of the disgust or anger she expected.

"No, I never could feel that way. You shouldn't have ran away yesterday,"

"I was embarrassed. If you were any other guy I could say I was just escaping from the fact I had just been stood up but with you, kissing you, I mean, gosh, you make me act like this!" She said defeated, resting her chin on the palm of her hand, shoulder on the table.

"I'm glad I bring the awkwardness out in you."

She giggled but stood up and started to pack things into her bag, thinking it was better to leave before she was brought back to reality with a bang. She didn't notice he had got out of his seat until she heard his voice from just behind her,

"You are adorable when you are oblivious to what's going on," he paused and watched her turn to him, confusion marring her pretty features.

He decided to just go with his feelings so kissed her, a little more confident that her one the previous night had been. Jo's surprise vanished in hardly any time and let her arms travel to the nape of his neck as his went around her waist, pulling her ever so slightly closer.

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><p>"For once you aren't putting make-up on when we chat on here," Mac said sarcastically yet made her know it was meant as a joke. Jo was out of state for the night so had taken her laptop to keep up to date with the investigation as it progressed in New York.<p>

"I know, it's shocking, but you see my boyfriend isn't that bothered about cosmetics and he's not seeing me in person tonight so I chose to have a quiet night-in. Adam's down in the restaurant though; I could go down and join him if you'd prefer, maybe throw myself at some guy who I thought didn't like me in _that_ way."

"Jo, don't even joke about something like that," Mac grinned as he saw her smirk on the screen in front of him, "you can only do that when I am the unsuspecting male in question."

"Fair enough. I miss you."

"It's only been six hours, we see less of each other when we are in the same building."

"I don't care, at least I can talk to you face to face, and turn up on your doorstep at any silly time."

"I miss our dates that weren't really dates and of course I miss you too," he rolled his eyes, not believing that he was in fact missing her already.

"I promise we can have one of those nights later this week. Deal?"

Mac nodded before continuing their talk, still unsure of how they could feel so strongly about the other person.


End file.
